2008 Woodie Awards
Cobain gave a voice, offered release to society's neglected
Katie Beckett
Issue date: 4/29/04 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Ten years ago last month, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide. I must admit when Nirvana first came out I didn't get them. I was one of the girls stuck on the "glam" rockers of the 1980s, Poison, Warrant, Bon Jovi and Slaughter, and a huge fan of Madonna and Janet Jackson and others.
I didn't get the screaming sounds of the hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and thought the video of a band in that smoky gym with the cheerleaders with the red A for anarchy symbol was stupid. The more I heard the more I liked it. I became a convert. Nirvana's music helped me release an anger that I and many others felt inside.
My parents had divorced as had Cobain's. He and I were hardly alone back in the early 1990s the divorce rates were skyrocketing, Nirvana represented the suppressed rage of many and had provided a release and a voice for society's neglected youth.
Cobain was different from his comtemporaries because you could see the pain on his face and in his incredible blue eyes. Reporters concentrated on his use of heroin and his unwashed appearance overlooking his brilliance.
Cobain always said his lyrics didn't mean anything but to a generation they meant a lot. He gave no concrete answers and his audience appreciated his honesty.
I didn't find out about Cobain's death until several days after. I was on a trip at the time and though my mom knew she neglected to tell me not understanding how big of a fan I was. My mother didn't understand what the big deal was because to her and many of her generation it was just a singer who died but to people of my generation it was comparable to when John Lennon was shot down outside the Dakota hotel in New York.
John Lennon as a part of the Beatles and as a solo artist was considered a voice of his generation to his fans but when they came out many parents didn't understand what the fuss was about and now it was happening again. The voice of his generation was gone, not murdered by some mentally ill fan but by his own hand. I remember reading the article on the front page of the Cedar Rapids Gazette over and over unable to comprehend what I was reading.
Here was a man who seemed to have everything American society stood for: a family, fame, money and legions of loyal fans and just like that he's gone. It just seemed unreal. I remember turning on MTV programming and for a week or more it concentrated on Nirvana. This is when it became clear to many how big the band was. I remember watching a report from a park in Seattle and hearing Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, reading his
I didn't get the screaming sounds of the hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and thought the video of a band in that smoky gym with the cheerleaders with the red A for anarchy symbol was stupid. The more I heard the more I liked it. I became a convert. Nirvana's music helped me release an anger that I and many others felt inside.
My parents had divorced as had Cobain's. He and I were hardly alone back in the early 1990s the divorce rates were skyrocketing, Nirvana represented the suppressed rage of many and had provided a release and a voice for society's neglected youth.
Cobain was different from his comtemporaries because you could see the pain on his face and in his incredible blue eyes. Reporters concentrated on his use of heroin and his unwashed appearance overlooking his brilliance.
Cobain always said his lyrics didn't mean anything but to a generation they meant a lot. He gave no concrete answers and his audience appreciated his honesty.
I didn't find out about Cobain's death until several days after. I was on a trip at the time and though my mom knew she neglected to tell me not understanding how big of a fan I was. My mother didn't understand what the big deal was because to her and many of her generation it was just a singer who died but to people of my generation it was comparable to when John Lennon was shot down outside the Dakota hotel in New York.
John Lennon as a part of the Beatles and as a solo artist was considered a voice of his generation to his fans but when they came out many parents didn't understand what the fuss was about and now it was happening again. The voice of his generation was gone, not murdered by some mentally ill fan but by his own hand. I remember reading the article on the front page of the Cedar Rapids Gazette over and over unable to comprehend what I was reading.
Here was a man who seemed to have everything American society stood for: a family, fame, money and legions of loyal fans and just like that he's gone. It just seemed unreal. I remember turning on MTV programming and for a week or more it concentrated on Nirvana. This is when it became clear to many how big the band was. I remember watching a report from a park in Seattle and hearing Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, reading his